EUGENE, Ore. – Magdalyn Ewen's collegiate finale lived up to the hype the Sun Devil senior had created over the span of her ASU career as she won the discus throw in dramatic fashion at the final day of the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Saturday marked the end of the NCAA track and field season and the last day of competition ever at Eugene's historic Hayward Field. Under gray skies and constant rain, Ewen provided one more memorable moment before the stadium's razing when she won the discus title on her sixth and final attempt of the competition.
"Discus is my favorite event and it's the one that's kind of been lagging behind a little bit over my career," Ewen said. "To come out and finish the way I did with the last throw in a really emotional environment, I couldn't be happier."
She came into the final round in second-place thanks to her second attempt effort. Defending champion Shadae Lawrence of Kansas State pushed the Sun Devil senior into third with her sixth attempt just before Ewen stepped into the ring for her final throw.
"That's the magic of throwing events – everything can change in an instant; you never know until it's completely over," Ewen said. "Seeing Shadae go out and put everything she had into it, I knew I had to do that too and also throw far enough to beat Valerie Allman."
Ewen came through in the spotlight and launched the discus 60.48m/198-5 feet to take a three-foot lead and ultimately win her fourth NCAA title.
"Being a Sun Devil, knowing this was my last meet, knowing this was last time I'll get to put on this uniform, competing in my favorite event; all of those things combined to make this win feel like the best thing ever," Ewen said.
Coupled with her shot put victory from Thursday, Ewen put up 20 points for the Sun Devils at the 2018 NCAA Championships, one shy of her total from a season ago. By claiming the discus title, Ewen is the first woman since 2000, and just the sixth in history, to win the discus and shot put crowns at the same NCAA Championship.
The Sun Devil triple-threat is also the only woman in collegiate history to have titles in the hammer throw (2017), shot put and discus throw.
One of the most prolific scorers in school history, Ewen will leave ASU having scored 70 points at national meets. With another All-America honor today, Ewen finishes her NCAA career with 11 First-Team honors.
Although she didn't grab a meet record at this year's Championships, the St. Francis, Minnesota, native is the owner of two collegiate records in the outdoor shot put (19.46m/63-10.25) and hammer throw (74.53m/244-6), making her one of two women with two active collegiate records. In the indoor shot put, Ewen is one of four women to ever top 19 meters in the event.
Her dominance at the conference level was historic as she tied the Pac-12 record for most individual titles with seven, and became the only woman to sweep the shot put, discus and hammer throw at the same championship event last season. She then repeated the sweep a month ago in Palo Alto, California, and ended her conference career with an astounding 168 points and three meet records in the indoor shot put, outdoor shot put and hammer throw.
With her indoor shot put NCAA title from earlier this year, Ewen became the first woman to claim titles in both the shot put and hammer throw, and her outdoor title in the shot from Thursday gave her the 18th season sweep of the event in championship history.
Arizona State finished ninth overall with 22 points for its second consecutive top-10 finish thanks to scoring from Ewen and Samantha Noennig. Pac-12 representative Southern California took home the women's team title with 53 points.
Saturday saw the end to Ewen's NCAA season, but her season of competition will continue later this month at the U.S. Championships.
NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships | June 9, 2018 | Eugene, Oregon
Discus Throw
1. Maggie Ewen – 60.48m/198-5
Saturday marked the end of the NCAA track and field season and the last day of competition ever at Eugene's historic Hayward Field. Under gray skies and constant rain, Ewen provided one more memorable moment before the stadium's razing when she won the discus title on her sixth and final attempt of the competition.
"Discus is my favorite event and it's the one that's kind of been lagging behind a little bit over my career," Ewen said. "To come out and finish the way I did with the last throw in a really emotional environment, I couldn't be happier."
She came into the final round in second-place thanks to her second attempt effort. Defending champion Shadae Lawrence of Kansas State pushed the Sun Devil senior into third with her sixth attempt just before Ewen stepped into the ring for her final throw.
"That's the magic of throwing events – everything can change in an instant; you never know until it's completely over," Ewen said. "Seeing Shadae go out and put everything she had into it, I knew I had to do that too and also throw far enough to beat Valerie Allman."
Ewen came through in the spotlight and launched the discus 60.48m/198-5 feet to take a three-foot lead and ultimately win her fourth NCAA title.
"Being a Sun Devil, knowing this was my last meet, knowing this was last time I'll get to put on this uniform, competing in my favorite event; all of those things combined to make this win feel like the best thing ever," Ewen said.
Coupled with her shot put victory from Thursday, Ewen put up 20 points for the Sun Devils at the 2018 NCAA Championships, one shy of her total from a season ago. By claiming the discus title, Ewen is the first woman since 2000, and just the sixth in history, to win the discus and shot put crowns at the same NCAA Championship.
The Sun Devil triple-threat is also the only woman in collegiate history to have titles in the hammer throw (2017), shot put and discus throw.
One of the most prolific scorers in school history, Ewen will leave ASU having scored 70 points at national meets. With another All-America honor today, Ewen finishes her NCAA career with 11 First-Team honors.
Although she didn't grab a meet record at this year's Championships, the St. Francis, Minnesota, native is the owner of two collegiate records in the outdoor shot put (19.46m/63-10.25) and hammer throw (74.53m/244-6), making her one of two women with two active collegiate records. In the indoor shot put, Ewen is one of four women to ever top 19 meters in the event.
Her dominance at the conference level was historic as she tied the Pac-12 record for most individual titles with seven, and became the only woman to sweep the shot put, discus and hammer throw at the same championship event last season. She then repeated the sweep a month ago in Palo Alto, California, and ended her conference career with an astounding 168 points and three meet records in the indoor shot put, outdoor shot put and hammer throw.
With her indoor shot put NCAA title from earlier this year, Ewen became the first woman to claim titles in both the shot put and hammer throw, and her outdoor title in the shot from Thursday gave her the 18th season sweep of the event in championship history.
Arizona State finished ninth overall with 22 points for its second consecutive top-10 finish thanks to scoring from Ewen and Samantha Noennig. Pac-12 representative Southern California took home the women's team title with 53 points.
Saturday saw the end to Ewen's NCAA season, but her season of competition will continue later this month at the U.S. Championships.
NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships | June 9, 2018 | Eugene, Oregon
Discus Throw
1. Maggie Ewen – 60.48m/198-5